The Cursed Traveler
by Eira's Moon
Summary: Having returned from their 7 year break in Fairy Sphere, Team Natsu goes on a suspicious mission in hopes to earn some money to help pull the guild out of debt. Unbeknownst to them, this mission will cause different worlds to collide once more as a single soul from the past will emerge and twist fate to reveal things best left unknown.


**Chapter 1**

"Oi! Flamebrain! What the hell do you think you're doing?! We just got back and need to find out what we've missed in the past 7 years, not charging off to destroy stuff", shouted a raven-haired male at another pink haired male that was rushing out of the guild hall.

"I know that ya damn Popsicle! I was just going to check on mine and Happy's house!"

"You idiot! You don't even know if you still have a house after 7 years!" The pinkette froze and angrily turned towards the raven raised fists on fire ready to fight.

"Why the hell wouldn't I?!"

The raven stood up from the bench he was sitting on to face the pinkette, "How could you pay for the place if you were considered dead for several years Ash for Brains?!"

"Guys, why don't we just calm down and find out what's happened since we've been gone? We can figure out what happened to all our places and stuff afterwards", a robust blonde woman exclaimed before the two males could get into a fight.

"Lucy's right. Natsu, Gray. We need to know what's changed since we've been in Fairy Sphere and fighting won't help anything", an armored redheaded woman stated sternly at the two males.

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Good", the redhead stated before turning away to address the other people in the guild hall that had been watching the interaction nostalgically. "What has happened since we've been gone? Our guild is no longer the same and nobody seems to care for the Fairy Tail name in town anymore."

"Well", started a young fire mage named Romeo, "aside from Twilight Ogre picking on us, we lost a lot of members and have a huge debt. We had to sell the old guild and Fairy Heights to pay for the debt and get this place. Also, all your guys' places were sold or rented out by the building managers. We got your stuff though and have them in storage."

All the returning mages listened and stayed silent as they considered what they'd been told. The situation was dire and seemed impossible to overcome when many of them were now homeless.

"Don't look so down everyone! We're Fairy Tail! We've dealt with way worse before", exclaimed a female with a white bob cut.

"You're right, Lisanna. This is nothing compared to what we've been through and I'm sure will recover from this quickly", the redhead smiled warmly, "Alright. The best way to get started would be to check any savings anyone might have and to go through our belongings to see if there is anything anyone's willing to sell, so that everyone could have some form of lodging for now. Once that's settled the best thing is to go on as many missions as possible to get Fairy Tail's name back out there and start paying off that debt."

"That's a great idea Erza! Alright you brats, let's get moving", declared a tiny old man from atop one of the bar counters.

"Great! I'm all fired up", shouted Natsu with a flaming fist bump in the air.

Lucy laughed, "Good to see that Natsu's still got a ton of energy. We all could really do with that right now."

* * *

"Ugh...", Lucy groaned in frustration as she plopped down at the table where Erza and Gray were sitting the next morning.

"What's wrong Lucy? I thought you were going to pick out a mission for us", Gray inquired.

"There's no missions with a decent pay if everyone is going. And they're all super easy ones like helping someone with planting their garden too. I don't know how we'll pull Fairy Tail out of debt with 500 jewel requests", Lucy groaned.

Looking up from her delicious strawberry shortcake thoughtfully Erza said, "It might take a while, but once word spreads that Fairy Tail's strongest are back and completing missions quickly I'm sure the kind of requests we were used to seeing will start coming in. We just need to be patient and remind everyone what kind of guild this is."

"You're right, Erza", Lucy said sheepishly with a small smile.

"Yeah, but it's still going to be really irritating until then", Gray sighed rubbing the back of his head with one hand.

"Good morning everyone", a sweet voice called out to them.

Turning to see a petite young girl with her dark blue hair in pigtails and a white cat with wings approaching Erza responded politely with a nod and said, "Good morning Wendy, Carla."

"Good morning", Carla greeted calmly as she landed on the table in front of where Wendy sat. "Where's the tomcat and pyromaniac? I thought we were all going on a mission this morning."

"Huh. Now that you mention it, I haven't seen Natsu or Happy yet", Lucy said puzzled.

"Maybe he overslept", Wendy suggested.

"It'd be just like him to do something like that. Especially after that fit he threw when we didn't go right away yesterday", Gray grumbled.

"Well, I'm sure they'll be here soon. It gives us some more time to decide on what we're going to do. If the rewards are so small, we might need to split up into pairs and take several requests at once", Erza mused.

"That makes sense, but it'll take a really long time to build any funds for the guild", Gray sighed.

"Yeah, but that's what most of the other members did. I think only Laxus went off on his own though. Going solo will be pretty risky though until we know how much the world has changed in 7 years. Dark guilds could be a lot more powerful now and not to mention any magical or technological advancements that could've been made", Lucy pointed out.

"I didn't even think about that", Wendy said softly hugging Carla close to her.

"Don't worry about it, Wendy. You and Carla can pair up with me", Gray offered.

"You'll be fine, child. I doubt things have changed too much", Carla huffed.

"That may be true, but it'd be better to be careful until we know for sure", Erza said.

"Speaking of partnering up, will you be going solo as well Erza? Or is there going to be a group of three", Lucy asked.

Erza thought carefully for a moment. "I'll probably go solo as well. It'll be easier to spread word about Fairy Tail that way."

"Guess that means you're with Natsu and Happy again, Lucy", Gray laughed.

Lucy sighed. "Hopefully he doesn't cause too much damage, so we'll still have some reward money at the end this time."

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Lucy", Wendy chirped sympathetically.

"I'll be sure to remind him not to if it'll help", Erza offered darkly.

"Uh… That's okay, Erza. Wendy's right. It'll probably be fine. Besides, he needs the money too", Lucy laughed nervously.

Suddenly the guild doors burst open and Natsu charged in grinning while a blue cat holding a piece of paper flew in above him.

Gray quickly stood up and shouted, "What the hell took you so long Natsu?! We've been waiting for you to get here!"

Before Natsu could say anything the flying blue cat gleefully chirped, "He forgot to set an alarm and overslept!"

"Hey! You overslept too, Happy", Natsu cried out in betrayal. His statement caused Lucy to facepalm, Wendy to giggle, and Carla to sigh.

"Of course, you would you idiot. And after pitching that fit yesterday too", Gray sneered.

"Are you asking for a fight, Droopy Eyes", Natsu shot back fists already on fire.

"What do you think, Squinty Eyes", Gray exclaimed while quickly stripping off his shirt and getting into a fighting stance.

Swiftly standing up before the two males could begin fighting, Erza sharply said, "Gray. Natsu. Now is not the time to start fighting. Natsu, while we were waiting for you we decided that we would split up to do missions since they're all relatively easy and have such small rewards."

"Wendy and Carla are going with Gray and Erza is going on her own. So, that means you, me, and Happy will be working together", Lucy added.

Natsu turned away from Gray with a puzzled expression. "What? But me and Happy already found a mission for all of us to go on. It looks pretty easy and pays a lot."

Happy flew down and spread the paper he was holding on the table for everyone to see. "We grabbed it last night before all the good requests could be taken", Happy proclaimed proudly.

MAGES NEEDED FOR ANCIENT CRYSTAL RESEARCH AND EVACUATION

EACH MAGE NEEDS TO HAVE A DIFFERENT KIND OF MAGIC

OFFENSIVE MAGIC PREFERRED

MAXIMUM OF 10 MAGES

WESTERN OUTSKIRT OF OAK TOWN

REWARD: 10000 JEWEL PER MAGE

"Wow…", Wendy breathed amazed.

"Look at the reward! That's incredible for such an easy mission", Lucy exclaimed.

"Yeah, but that probably means that they're leaving something out. It seems too good of a deal to not have something fishy going on", Gray pointed out.

"Maybe it's because of the research they're conducting? They could be doing dangerous experiments or maybe they need protection from people trying to steal their research when they're done", Wendy suggested.

Carla shook her head. "But then why does every mage need to have a different magic and why is such a large group allowed?"

"Carla and Gray are right. There's something off about this mission…", Erza sighed frowning.

"Damn. And I was really looking forward to that reward money", Lucy said disappointedly.

Natsu pouted at their words before defensively exclaiming, "Well, it's still worth checking out! At least this way we'll know to keep an eye out in case something happens! I think we should still take it!"

Gray frowned and Wendy looked uncertainly at the request.

"I don't know Natsu…", Lucy murmured.

Studying the request skeptically Erza said, "We do need the reward money and like Natsu said we'll have our guards up. It's better if we go in expecting something to happen than being caught unaware, so that'll improve our chances. I think we should check it out before an unsuspecting party goes instead."

"Are you sure, Erza", Gray asked warily as Lucy and Wendy exchanged nervous looks.

"What are you scared, Snowflake? We've faced a lot of unexpected things on missions before", Natsu goaded Gray.

Shooting Natsu a glare, Gray growled, "No! I'm just looking out for everyone. We don't know what to expect and while we've come out of similar situations alright doesn't mean this one will too."

"Nobody has to go if they aren't okay with it", Erza said quickly before Natsu could say something, "It's a bit risky, but as Fairy Tail mages I think we're all more than capable of handling a bit of danger."

Lucy smiled, "You're right Erza. I'm sure we'll be fine. We are Fairy Tail's strongest team after all!"

"After facing Acnologia and surviving, I think we can do this", Wendy agreed with determination in her eyes.

Shaking his head, Gray sighed, "Alright, but this mission is giving me a bad feeling."

"I'm all fired up now! Let's go", Natsu cheered as he raced out of the guild hall with Happy flying after him.

"Do you think he realizes that we'll be taking a train", Lucy asked laughing.

"Probably not, but he will soon", Gray smirked much to the amusement of the others as they walked out of the guild towards the station.

* * *

**Author's Note**

Hello, everyone! So, this is my first fanfic and I hope this first chapter wasn't too bad. I've had this stuck in my head for ages and figured I'd go ahead and try putting it out there to see what people think. Now that the first chapter is out it'll be easier to get the plot going but I guess we'll see! Also, if you noticed anything that bugs you about the grammar or the characters go ahead and let me know. I appreciate any constructive criticism and will try to bring out another chapter as soon as I can along with any edits to this chapter that may need to be made.

Cross-posted on AO3 as The Cursed Traveler by Eiras_Moon

Words: 1,906

Published: July 24, 2019


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